Is he really a bad person? At the beginning of the film, he is portrayed as a villain, a selfish individual who only cares about himself. He clearly had no respect for other people, as evidenced by his complete humiliation of Cameron and Christine. He did not hesitate to take advantage of these two innocent minorities. However, as the film progressed, you saw the softer side of him. He is shown living with his father who takes care of his health problem. You see him do everything he can to make sure his father gets the best care, even if he insults yet another person while doing so. Finally, in one of the most powerful scenes in the film, you see him risk his life to save a black woman. This to me proves that Agent Ryan is not a horrible person. He can't really be a racist, at least not right now, because someone who really hates minorities would let Christine die. Which brings me to the lesson Agent Ryan teaches. Bitterness and circumstances can cloud our perception of people. He allowed certain events to change his view of an entire race. The bitterness he felt about what had happened to his father consumed him. His observation of all the negative aspects of blacks and other minorities, events he saw every day as a police officer, led him to classify all African Americans as bad.